


One More Time with Feeling

by FridayFirefly



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Both Gabriel and Emilie have got them, Drama, F/M, For someone who claims that he hates drama, Friends to Lovers, Gabriel is one dramatic bitch, Pre-Canon, Romance, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FridayFirefly/pseuds/FridayFirefly
Summary: Before he wielded the Butterfly Miraculous, before he owned his own fashion empire, before terrorized the city of Paris to save his wife, Gabriel Agreste was just another university student. He had the ambition to make his mark in the fashion world, and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way. He had learned his lesson - friendships were for weaker people.Before she wielded the Peacock Miraculous, before she married the love of her life, before she went into an irreversible coma, Emilie Graham de Vanily was painfully average. She was the less popular, less talented half of a set of twins, living her life without any particular goal or direction. That was the case until she met Gabriel Agreste.Both of their lives changed when they met each other, setting off a chain of events that would lead to their tragic end. From students to lovers to Miraculous wielders, this is a pre-canon explanation as to how Gabriel and Emilie met each other, fell in love, and found the Miraculous of the Butterfly and Peacock.
Relationships: Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth
Comments: 12
Kudos: 12
Collections: April 2020 - AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic Discord](https://discord.gg/EcBU625) April Exchange, for luckychrm#2100
> 
> Title is from the Regina Spektor song of the same name. I highly recommend it, it's a really good song and I listened to it a lot while writing this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel meets Emilie; they experience the opposite of a meet-cute, but eventually warm up to each other. Gabriel decides that becoming friends with Emilie might not be the worst thing in the world.

Gabriel intended the change in cities to be his fresh start. Transferring campuses half-way through his second year of university, against the advice of his university advisor and his parents, wasn't the sort of decision one made lightly. However, it was Gabriel's only choice. After his last semester ended in disaster, he couldn't stand to stay on the Bordeaux campus for even one more semester. He would regret that semester for the rest of his life, though he did have to admit that it had taught him some lessons that he would never forget. His first lesson - trust no one, ever.

However, Gabriel had high hopes for his new life in Paris. He was a committed student and a prodigy at fashion design. He got along well with every professor he had had before. He knew how to get his way around his classmates, when to play nice and when to go for the metaphorical kill. He was cunning, industrious, resourceful - if anyone could manage to move campuses half-way through their university education, it would be him.

Unfortunately, Gabriel's fresh start hadn't been going as well as he had hoped. He had expected his first week of classes to be a manageable amount of work that would allow him to approximate his workload for the semester, thereby allowing him to create a weekly schedule for himself. He had expected that he would attend office hours and get in the good graces of his teachers. Instead, he had gotten the flu and had been bedridden for his first week in Paris.

By the time he was able to return to classes, Gabriel was already a week behind schedule. He contacted all of his professors, trying to weave his way into their good graces, even though he couldn't meet them in person. He heard back from all but one of them: Pauline Renaud, the professor of his Advanced Design class.

Walking into Advanced Design, Gabriel wasn't quite sure what to expect. He had heard through the campus grapevine that Advanced Design was an easy class for many years until Professor Renaud took over and made it one of the most difficult fashion design prerequisite classes. Gabriel approached Professor Renaud, forcing a polite smile onto his face.

"Professor Renaud? I'm Gabriel Agreste. I missed your first class, due to illness."

Professor Renaud glanced up from her laptop. "Call me Pauline. I loathe formality. I'm on a first-name basis with all of my students. The only thing you missed was me reading the syllabus on the first day. I'll email you a copy and you can skim through it before class starts. Pay attention to the section on your final project. Oh, and sit anywhere you'd like. I don't do a seating chart or anything silly like that."

Gabriel nodded, thanked her, and took a seat at the front of the room. As promised, Pauline had emailed him a copy of the syllabus. Gabriel scanned until he reached the section that Pauline advised him to take note of, then started reading:

_**Midterm and Finals** : Instead of a traditional timed exam, the Advanced Design midterm and final are both projects. You will be assigned a partner based on compatibility in design, then each partnership will be tasked with designing a line of clothing for the midterm, then crafting your designs for the final._

"You're in my seat."

Gabriel glanced up from his laptop half-way though the sentence he was reading to see a girl scowling down at him. Her perfectly curled platinum blonde hair and expensive designer coat were a clear indication that she was exactly the sort of entitled, spoiled rich socialite that Gabriel wanted nothing to do with. "We don't have assigned seats in this class. I already checked with Professor Renaud," he informed her.

"Last class, I sat in this seat. We might not have an official seating chart, but it's common courtesy to stick with your original seat."

"Not my problem. Find a new seat." Had the girl been more polite, Gabriel would have apologized and changed seats, but he wasn't going to give the time of day to someone who didn't have the word 'please' in their vocabulary.

"Fine," she snapped, flipping her hair behind her as she marched to the other side of the classroom.

"Alright class, it's time to get started. As you know, 75% of your overall grade in this class is based on your midterm and final projects, which will be completed with a partner. I will be assigning these partnerships myself, using an anonymous survey to try and match you all fairly. I would like for you to spend this class session filling out the survey, then you can leave early. However, you should all be prepared to start doing real work after this - the first two classes are notably easier than the rest of the year. The surveys have been emailed to you, so get to it."

As Gabriel filled out the survey, he glanced around the class, wondering who he might be partnered with. Gabriel loathed group projects, preferring to work alone. However, he still filled out the survey to the best of his ability, as getting a good partner was vital to surviving a group project. Though, in the end, it wasn't a question of who he worked best with, but a question of who he despised the least. He paid special attention to the open-ended question: **What is your preferred role in a partnership**. Gabriel stressed that he preferred to be the leader in all types of situations, and worked best when the people around him as an authority, rather than a peer. He knew that his answers would come off as arrogant, but it was necessary. He wasn't willing to fail this class - he wanted a partner he could actually work with.

Gabriel left the classroom as soon as he submitted his survey, hoping to get back to his dorm quickly so that he could catch up on some classwork he missed. In his eagerness to leave the classroom, he almost ran right into the blonde girl from before. She shot him a dark look as she slipped out the door in front of him, wrapping an emerald green scarf around her neck. Emerald green just like her eyes, a color so vibrant that Gabriel could envision creating a whole line of fashion centered around it. He shook the thoughts from his head as he stepped out of the building onto the chilly streets of Paris. The city was in the coldest weeks of winter, the temperature firmly resting below freezing, no matter what time of day.

It took minimal effort to get himself caught up in his classes. The only things he missed were his professors reviewing their syllabi and a few introductory lessons. Once he had finished, Gabriel decided to get something to eat from one of the on-campus dining halls and check out the library. He had always had a fondness for libraries. The smell of old books, the quiet movements of people through the shelves, the awareness of the knowledge tucked away in the shelves, waiting to be uncovered - Gabriel could spend hours in a library, something that he had been mercilessly bullied over in middle school. Middle school was when he first learned to hide his passions. No one wanted to be friends with the boy who loved reading or the boy who wanted to be a fashion designer. It wasn't until his first year of university, surrounded by his like-minded peers, all just as passionate about fashion design as himself, that Gabriel started making friends. Of course, all of his friendships were shattered beyond repair after the disaster that befell him just a few months prior.

As walked up the stairs to the library, he ran into the blonde girl for the second time that day. She was exiting the building, a book tucked under her arm. The ends of her scarf fluttered in the breeze until a gust of wind blew the scarf right off of her neck. She instinctively reached out for it, her book falling to the ground as the tips of her fingers pulled the scarf back to safety. 

Despite his instantaneous dislike of the girl, Gabriel was still raised to be a gentleman, so he reached down and picked up the book for her. _The Use of Fashion in Magic and Mythology,_ Gabriel read. A sticky note poking out of the book had the words _Gemini Rings_ written on it. Gabriel was instantly curious

"You dropped this," he handed the book to her.

"Thank y- oh, it's you." Her emerald eyes narrowed. "You aren't following me, are you?" she accused.

"Is it a crime to go to the library now?"

She sighed. "Whatever. But if you're going to keep running into me, you could at least give me your name."

"Gabriel Agreste."

"Emilie Graham de Vanily."

"What's the book for?" Gabriel couldn't help but ask.

"It's for Professor Renaud's project," Emilie blurted out. It was a perfectly sensible reason, but the way she said it made it sound like it was an excuse, rather than an explanation. "I wanted to start brainstorming early."

Gabriel nodded, "Well, I'll see you next class. Maybe if you get there early enough, you can have your seat back."

Emilie narrowed her eyes. "So you admit that it's _my_ seat."

"I'm fairly certain that the seat belongs to the university, not to you."

There was a competitive gleam to her eyes as Emilie said, "I'm getting my seat back, whether you like it or not. I'll see you in class on Wednesday. I'll be in my seat, and if you play nice, I'll let you have the seat next to mine."

She walked away, her book tucked back under her arm, scarf fluttering in the breeze. Gabriel watched her go, as she crossed the street, then turned the corner, out of sight. He was completely blind-sighted by Emilie Graham de Vanily; her emotions seemed as ever-changing as the seasons, anger one minute which turned to playful teasing the next. He had been perfectly rude to her, and yet her grudge faded away in a single conversation as if it had never existed at all. Overall, she perplexed him. He couldn't help but want to get to know her.

Gabriel pushed his thoughts of Emilie away as he entered the library. He had already made up his mind on the subject of making friends - he wasn't going to. His friendship and subsequent relationship with Victoria was what ruined his life so spectacularly just one month ago. Besides, he couldn't start the year distracted, even if that distraction was a beautiful, funny blonde girl with a competitive streak he could see from a mile away.

Browsing mindlessly through the library helped to take his mind off of his dilemma. Gabriel flipped through books, debating whether or not he would have time to read them. The Advanced Design class appeared to entail much more work than he had originally anticipated. Creating an entire fashion line, on top of all of the normal assignments for the class wouldn't leave him with a lot of free time. Despite the very slim chance that he would finish the books, Gabriel found the five most interesting and brought them home with them. It would be good to read them, he reasoned, as he could use them for inspiration, similar to Emilie. 

Thoughts of Emilie Graham de Vanily lingered in his mind for days; he couldn't get her out of his thoughts no matter how hard he tried.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, despite a vicious snowstorm that was pummeling the city of Paris, Gabriel made the trek through the snow to his Advanced Design class. When he walked through the door, he could see Emilie in her seat, smug smile on her face. Gabriel took the seat next to hers.

"Congratulations on winning back your seat."

"Thank you." The smug smile only grew larger. "I got to class ten minutes early for this, but I believe that it was worth it to beat you."

Gabriel chuckled, amused by Emilie's antics. He had already made himself swear not to commit to a friendship, but surely having an acquaintanceship with one of his classmates didn't break that rule. As long as he and Emilie kept their conversations on the topics of school and fashion, they wouldn't get close enough to form a genuine connection. "You know, had you simply said 'please' yesterday, I would have just given you your seat."

"I didn't say 'please'? I'm sorry, that was quite rude of me."

Gabriel shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. I was rather rude as well. I had missed my whole first week of classes due to illness, and I was taking my frustration out on you. I apologize."

"I wasn't at my best of Monday either. I had gotten in a very intense argument with my sister, and it put me in a bad mood all morning."

"How about we start over," Gabriel offered. That was his goal, wasn't it? A fresh start, in a new city, with new acquaintances.

Emilie's smile was so bright Gabriel could barely stand to look at it. She was one of the most expressive people he had ever met. "I would love that."

"Listen up, class." Professor Renaud called out. Gabriel tried to remember to refer to her as Pauline, but he still felt awkward calling her by her first name. If he was a professor someday, he wouldn't tolerate that sort of familiarity, not with him in a position of authority over his students. "I assigned you all into your project groups based on the survey. Some of you were more difficult to partner up than others - I know that I told you to be as informative as possible on the survey, but that is not the same as being too picky." Gabriel assumed that the weighted look she gave in his direction was meant for him, though he was a little indignant at her annoyance. Pickiness was necessary when 75% of his overall grade was on the line. 

"I'm sending you all an email with the name of your partner enclosed after class today. However, I am not giving you any time in class to work on your midterm or final. That is meant to be done outside of class. We're getting started today on our first design assignment. I want you to all chose a color and create an outfit that you feel highlights that color to the best of your ability."

Gabriel's mind immediately focused on Emilie's emerald green eyes and all the things he could do with that color.

"This assignment is primarily so that I can assess you all on your ability to work with colors, so make sure you choose a color you can truly work with. Don't take the easy way out with a color like black or white. I want to see creativity as well as a strong understanding of color theory. Now get to work. I want your sketches turned in at the end of class."

Gabriel pulled out his sketchpad and started brainstorming. He envisioned in his mind an emerald green gown, highlighted with gold embroidery and a gold shawl that shimmered in the light, catching every eye in the room. It would be enchanting, further complimented by Emilie's pale gold hair and her bright green eyes.

"What color are you using?" asked Emilie.

"Emerald green," Gabriel said casually. "How about you?"

"Dusky rose as my primary color, with olive green and gold highlights. I think I'm going to design a cream-colored sundress with a pattern of rose-colored flowers and tiny olive green and gold leaves."

Gabriel glanced at her sketchbook, where she had the basic outline of a sundress already laid out, with bulky flowers scattered across the drawing. "The colors aren't my preferred aesthetic, but that's a creative concept."

"What is your preferred aesthetic."

They were getting dangerously out of the 'only talking about school and fashion' zone, but Gabriel didn't have the heart to shut down the conversation when it was just getting started. "I prefer dark, rich colors over pastels."

Emilie wrinkled her nose. "I don't like pastels either. My preference is light, airy colors over dark, rich colors, though I can appreciate both."

Gabriel nodded in acknowledgment and got back to work. He started making note of the type of fabric he would use - velvet for the gown - and the stitching he would use for the golden embroidery and shawl. To emphasize the emerald color of the gown, he had the golden embroidery start at the bottom of the gown and fade from gold to black on its way up. The pattern of the embroidery would be something relatively simple, little streams of gold that branched off of each other as they climbed up the dress.

Gabriel was so focused on his design that he didn't notice Emilie getting up out of her seat until she whispered, "See you next class, Gabriel." 

"Bye, Emilie." He watched her as she turned in her sketchbook. She gave Professor Renaud a smile - though not as bright as the one she gave him, Gabriel noted to his satisfaction.

Five minutes later, Gabriel put the finishing touches on his design, writing out little details in the margin to truly flesh out his design into something producible. He exited the classroom and to his surprise, Emilie was waiting outside for him. "Emilie? What are you still doing here?"

"Check your email," Emilie urged. 

Gabriel pulled out his cellphone and pulled up his student email. _One unread email, sent from Pauline Renaud._ He tapped on the notification, and the content of the email was pulled up. 

_Gabriel Agreste,_

_I have never before seen such a detailed survey submission. While I'm glad you know what you're looking for, next time please stick to the basics. I hope that my choice in parter is satisfactory for you. You will be completing your midterm and final project with Emilie Graham de Vanily._

_Best,  
Pauline Renaud_

"We're partners," Gabriel noted. He couldn't figure out whether or not he was happy about it. On one hand, he enjoyed Emilie's company. On the other hand, he enjoyed her company a little too much.

"Isn't this great?" Emilie's smile was so infectious that Gabriel almost wanted to smile too. However, it was easy enough to crush the impulse down deep inside of him. "What days are you free? We need to figure out our meeting times for the project. I already have some ideas and I'm sure you have some too. We'll have to figure out a brainstorming session pronto. Then we need to figure out the type of clothing we'll make and the aesthetics of the clothes. We'll also need to get materials and find suitable models for the completed products-"

"One step at a time," Gabriel interrupted. "Let's start by picking out some weekly meeting times. When are you free?"

"I'm free every day from seven to nine o'clock in the evening."

"We can start by meeting twice a week at the library - Tuesday and Thursday - and we can add more days if necessary. Does that sound good?"

Emilie nodded. "Yep. See you tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night," Gabriel agreed. "For now, have a nice day, Emilie."

"You too, Gabriel."

Emilie walked down the hallway, the slightest skip in her step. 

Gabriel hated the part of himself that was sad to see her go. It was the same part that wanted to smile when she smiled, that was fixated on the color of her eyes, that longed to see her again. Gabriel hated that a not insignificant part of himself felt something for Emilie Graham de Vanily.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Gabriel found himself counting down the hours until he got to see Emilie again. He met up with Emilie in the library lobby; her signature scarf was the first thing that caught his eye as soon as he walked through the door. "Are you ready to start brainstorming?" asked Emilie as they walked to one of the library's designated group project rooms - small conference rooms scattered throughout the building for people to meet up and study in.

"Of course I'm ready," Gabriel responded. "I have all of my ideas so far written out in list format, sorted by my preference for them."

"I'm certainly not as organized as you, but I have a few ideas I think you might like. Do you remember that book I dropped earlier this week - the one that I said I was using for project inspiration?"

"I remember."

"Well, I was looking through it and there was a section on magical jewelry throughout the legends of different cultures. There was a section about jewelry based on Tibetan legends and sections about jewelry based on the Chinese zodiac as well. I thought that a creative idea would be to make replicas of the jewelry and then design our outfits to compliment that jewelry."

"That's an interesting idea." It was a better idea than anything that Gabriel had come up with. "Professor Renaud did say that she wanted to see creativity."

Emilie beamed at the praise. "I have the book with me, so you could take a look at it."

Once they got to the study room, Gabriel spent the first few minutes flipping through the book. The jewelry was beautiful and intricate, each with enough detail that it would be easy to create an outfit that highlights every tiny aspect.

"Your idea seems promising. I'm excited to see where we can take this."

"It's especially nice since it fits perfectly within the guidelines of the project. Professor Renaud requires fifteen to twenty outfits - we have twelve with the zodiac, plus another seven with the Tibetan jewelry."

Gabriel nodded. "This shouldn't be too difficult. We have a good idea to start with and we're beginning the project early enough that we shouldn't have to rush anything. I think this partnership will go well between the two of us."

"Now that we've got a solid plan for our project, will you lighten up a little," teased Emilie. "We have everything under control. There's no reason to be so serious all the time. We can afford to joke around a little."

Gabriel frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean. Seriousness is important for a project that is worth 75% of our overall grade."

"Sure, the project is important. I just want to know that it's not going to be the only thing we ever talk about."

The problem was that Gabriel wanted the project to be the only thing they talked about. He didn't want to share his hopes and dreams with Emilie, not when they had been crushed so recently. "I just want to stay on task until we finish the project."

"That could take all semester. Are you never going to lighten up?"

"Not if we never get done with the project."

Emilie narrowed her eyes and let out a frustrated huff. "I know that you're the workaholic type, the type that never takes a break, but you still have to relax every once in a while."

"There will be time to relax and take breaks when we've finished with our project."

"Gabriel, can you please listen to me for one minute." The playful Emilie from earlier was gone. In her place was a stubborn, serious, no-nonsense Emilie. "I understand that you're the take-charge type. I wrote on my survey that I'm more of a follower than a leader, and that's true. However, that doesn't mean I have to listen to every word that comes out of your mouth. This is a partnership, and I happen to think that partnerships are much easier when both partners are friends with each other. So even though we have the study room reserved until nine tonight, how about we take a break right now. We might not have accomplished a ton today, but in the earlier stages getting along is more important than making tremendous progress. How about we leave early, go get something to eat, and just talk for a little while."

Emilie was right, and Gabriel knew that to be a fact. She was right that they would work better as friends than as enemies. She was right that getting along was more important than finishing early. She was right that he was being unfair to her, making rules that she didn't agree to follow. But despite his knowledge that she was entirely correct, there was still an emotion deep inside of him that begged him to disagree. It made him want to snap at her, to deny every offer of friendship she gave him. It made him want to be cruel. 

But Gabriel pushed the emotion away and spoke, "I suppose you're right. It wouldn't hurt to go get something to eat."

"Great!"

"Where do you want to go?"

Emilie looked to be deep in thought. "That depends. How well do you know that Parisian restaurant scene."

"I've lived in Paris for all of two weeks, and I spent one of those weeks barely even able to eat anything at all. The only "restaurant scene" that I've experienced was the campus dining hall."

"Oh good, that means I can surprise you. Come on, I'll make up my mind on the way."

They both packed up their bags and left the library. Gabriel felt a tinge of regret - they had only spent about twenty minutes in the study room they had reserved for two hours. It will be worth it in the end, he reassured himself as Emilie grabbed one of his hands and started guiding him down the street.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"Spoilsport," Emilie groaned. "We're going to get gourmet ice cream. It's really good, I promise."

They finally stopped at a little ice cream shop near the Seine River. Gabriel held the door open for Emilie, and she thanked him with a smile. "Try the caramel coffee," advised Emilie. "It's delicious."

Gabriel took her advice and, as promised, the ice cream was delicious. "You certainly have good taste in ice cream."

"Thank you," Emilie accepted the praise. "See, isn't this better than staying in that stuffy library all night long."

"I like the library," protested Gabriel. "I've always liked libraries."

"I suppose the library isn't all that bad. It's not the problem - you are. I bet you enjoy studying too," teased Emilie.

"Why go to university if you can't tolerate spending your evenings studying," Gabriel rebutted.

"I study when it's necessary, but I still have a healthy social life. Don't you ever take a break from studying? Doesn't it get tiring after a while?"

"I enjoy studying. It's what got me a full scholarship for all of my university expenses."

"We can agree to disagree," Emilie decided. "I just prefer to learn hands-on. I'm no good at memorizing the things that I read."

They spent the rest of the night chatting. Gabriel tried to steer the conversation in the direction of their classes - it was easy since Emilie had quite a few opinions about her professors and classmates that she wanted to share. She caught Gabriel up to speed on everything that he had missed in the past two years in the Paris campus's fashion department. According to Emilie, the Advanced Design course that Professor Renaud taught had the reputation of being one of the most difficult classes in their program.

Talking to Emilie was nice, but Gabriel couldn't shake the feeling inside of him. It urged him to leave Emilie behind, to go back to his dorm room and never come out. It wasn't until Gabriel got home that day that he was finally able to identify that emotion. As soon as he got some distance from Emilie, he recognized it for what it was. That emotion was fear. He was afraid of friendship.

He thought that calling off friendships had been the logical choice; he assumed that it had been a choice made without the input of his emotions. Now, it seemed that fear had been driving that decision from the start. Had his experiences with Victoria broken him?

Gabriel started to rethink his plan. He had originally intended to make no friends at all, but his plan was already falling apart. His loneliness was battling it out with his fear of people getting close to him, and Emilie Graham de Vanily was going to be its first casualty if he didn't get his act together. No matter how much it scared him, Gabriel was going to have to make friends. He would start slow, the same way that someone would dip their toes into the water to test out the temperature. He would make a few friends but would keep his distance from them emotionally. He wouldn't tell them secrets, wouldn't confide in them. He would spend time with them when necessary, discuss trivial things, make as much small talk as he needed to drive the loneliness away. Victoria had taught him his lesson on growing too close to someone, but as long as he was careful he should be fine. As long as he kept a little bit of distance between himself and Emilie, she couldn't hurt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the first five chapters pre-written. I'll be posting them twice a week, every Sunday and Thursday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilie and Gabriel get to work on the project. One night, Emilie gets a call with disastrous consequences.

If you asked Emilie, she would tell you that her greatest flaw was that she was greedy with her friendship. She theorized that it was a twin thing, that because her first friendship came so easily she expected all of her friendships to come that easily. 

Gabriel Agreste was one of the greatest challenges she had ever faced. It was hard to break through Gabriel's walls. He was the most emotionally constipated person she had ever met - it took two weeks for her to get him to give her a genuine smile. Every time she thought she was bringing him out of his shell, he closed himself back off. Every time she tried to ease the conversation towards their personal lives, he drove the conversation right back to the familiar topics of school and fashion. Gabriel Agreste was an enigma, and Emilie was going to solve him. He was like her second major - while she was going to university primarily for a fashion degree, it seemed that she was also going to university for a degree in Gabriel Agreste studies.

It was easy enough to spend time with him. They were forced together twice a week by circumstance, and the fact that Gabriel needed to be on good terms with her to pass Advanced Design was enough for Emilie to convince him to meet her outside of class, in social settings. Emilie planned all of their outings, dragging him to ice cream shops, food trucks, art galleries, and underground film festivals. However, no matter how much time they spent together, Gabriel still closed himself off from real friendship.

"We've been working on this project for three weeks, as of today," noted Gabriel. "I think we should do a progress check to see where we are and what we still need to do."

"Sure. We have rough drafts of designs for the Bee, the Turtle, the Fox, the Pig, the Mouse, the Dog, the Horse, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rooster, the Goat, and the Monkey. That's twelve out of the nineteen that we have solid, workable drafts for."

"Which designs do we still need to put on paper?"

"The Cat, the Ladybug, the Peacock, the Butterfly, the Snake, the Rabbit, and the Dragon."

"I can start polishing the drafts we have now if you have any ideas for the outfits we have left," offered Gabriel.

"I think I'll take the Peacock Brooch. I have an idea for a wrap dress with a skirt made to look like a peacock's plumage."

Gabriel nodded. "I look forward to seeing your design." He pulled out one of the finished designs - the Bee, in specific - and started making adjustments and adding in the tiny details necessary to create it in real life. Emilie watched as he wrote in the specific types of thread and fabric they would use to create the Bee outfit.

Emilie turned her attention back to her own design, putting to paper a rough sketch of the dress she had in mind. The top of the dress would be royal blue, with a silver sash around the waist separating the bodice from the plumage skirt. It would be quite a lot of work, creating a skirt that looked like real feathers, but Emilie would already picture it in her mind. If they got it right, it would look magnificent.

"For the Bee dress, should we make it with cotton fabric or silk?" asked Gabriel.

Emilie thought of the Bee dress for a moment. It was a high waisted knee-length black dress with a jewel neckline and a honeycomb pattern stitched into the skirt of the dress with gold thread, with a translucent jacket overtop, to mimic the wings of a bee. "I would go with silk, for both the dress and the jacket." 

"Thank you." Gabriel nodded, making the note in the margins of the paper.

"No problem," said Emilie, wishing that he would talk to her about anything other than the project. "So are you doing anything Friday night?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Nope."

Emilie smiled. "In that case, you should come to the Valentine's Day party that I'm hosting at my apartment. I can introduce you to the rest of my friends."

"I'm not sure..."

Emilie jumped on her chance to convince him. "It'll be fun, I promise. All of my friends want to meet the guy I'm spending half of my weeknights with."

"I suppose I might show up." Gabriel sounded hesitant, like he was weighing the pros and cons in his mind as he spoke.

"Well, I hope I see you there," Emilie said as she turned her attention back to the Peacock design. The sooner she and Gabriel finished the project, the sooner she could start putting some pressure on his walls, and the sooner she could finally get him to crack. 

Two days later, they were back in their study room like always. This time, Emilie was polishing finished designs while Gabriel worked on the Butterfly outfit, a black suit jacket and pants with a dark purple undershirt, with a collar the went up to the chin. The lapels of the suit popped out like angular butterfly wings. The brooch would rest at the hollow of the throat, tying the whole outfit together.

Gabriel was one of the most talented design students that Emilie had met in her almost three years at university. He had both innate skill and irrepressible determination to succeed - Emilie knew that he would become a big name designer someday. Emilie was skilled as well, but she lacked the driving ambition to push herself to create her own fashion company. She would be satisfied designing in the back of a boutique store or working for a fashion magazine.

"Have you made up your mind about coming to my party tomorrow?" asked Emilie.

Gabriel glanced up from the Butterfly design. "Yes, I will be there. I thought that I already told you that?"

Emilie rolled her eyes. "You must have been too wrapped up in your design to remember, but you told me that you 'suppose you might show up'. That was a 'maybe' at best."

Gabriel looked slightly abashed and Emilie was entranced by his show of human emotion. "I'm sorry that I was so vague. I promise that I'll be there."

"Good." Emilie smiled. "Do you have any dietary restrictions that I should worry about?"

"I have a seafood allergy."

"Noted. The party starts at seven and tentatively ends at eleven, though there's a possibility that it runs later."

Gabriel nodded. "I'll be there. I know that I come off as... standoffish. However, I do appreciate our friendship."

As an official scholar of Gabriel Agreste, Emilie had a lot to dissect in that sentence, but right then and there was neither the time nor the place to psychologically analyze Gabriel Agreste. "I appreciate our friendship too."

When nine o'clock rolled around and Gabriel left the study room to go home, Emilie stayed behind to finish the final touches of the Dog design. While she was working, she started to pick apart what Gabriel's words. Most importantly, he admitted that they were friends. Emilie had been walking the like between classmate and friend for almost three weeks, so it was nice to have her efforts validated. Also, he finally admitted to her that he was standoffish. Emilie was worried that he might have been unaware of how aloof he appeared to others, which would make it twice as difficult to get him to act a little softer around others. Her goal wasn't to change him, just to find the right way to introduce him to her friends without causing an irreparable rift between the people that she cared about.

Emilie's phone rang just as she was putting the designs away in her binder. She glanced down at the caller ID, and, seeing that it was her twin sister Amelie calling, she answered it.

"Hello, Amelie. Are you calling to _finally_ RSVP to my party, even though I sent you your invitation two weeks ago?"

"I'm your sister, I don't need to RSVP." Amelie was either ignoring the bitterness in Emilie's voice or missed it entirely. "I will be there, but I shouldn't have to call and confirm that I'm coming when I'm the second name on the lease of the apartment."

"Well, I'm the one living here full-time. It would be nice for you to give me at least a week's notice of when you're coming home."

"Why? It's not like you're inviting boys over?"

Emilie pushed down her feelings of frustration and tried to keep her tone of voice pleasant. "I've invited to the party that boy I've been talking to for the past few weeks."

"The grumpy one?"

"Gabriel isn't grumpy. He's just a bit standoffish. He's very sweet once you get to know him."

"You're going to make me get to know him, aren't you?" Amelie sighed. "You always choose the most boring friends. Nathalie has no personality whatsoever."

Emilie scowled at her phone screen, wishing she was assertive enough to press the button to hang up. Amelie was the only person around whom Emilie couldn't seem to stand up for herself. Around everyone else, Emilie always spoke her mind, but around her twin, Emilie let herself be walked over every time. 

"Nathalie is shy, and you come on way too strong. Just give her a little to come out of her shell."

"No offense, Em, but I'd rather spend my time in Paris with Audrey and Victoria than with your boring friends."

Audrey Perrier (soon to be Audrey Bourgeoise, when she finally set a date to marry her spineless fiancé, Andre Bourgeoise) was one of the worst people Emilie had ever met. She never had a nice word to say to anyone, but ever since her first year of university, Amelie was enraptured by the older blonde. They fed each other's negativity, turning Amelie from a kind young woman to a spiteful, impatient, impolite gossip.

Victoria Capelle was equally terrible, but luckily, Emilie didn't see much of her. Victoria had spent the last three years of her life cheating her way through a fashion degree at the Bordeaux campus of the same university that Emilie went to, though rumor had it that she had been caught cheating during finals week two months ago, and had been expelled. Emilie thanked her lucky stars that Victoria didn't go to the Paris campus, otherwise she was sure that Amelie would have found a way to get Emilie involved in the drama.

"No offense taken," Emilie sighed. "Just don't invite Audrey or Victoria. We both know that she would ruin the party."

"Fine. Fair warning, if the party gets lame I'm leaving to get drunk with Audrey and Vic."

"Okay. See you there."

"Ciao, Em. See you tomorrow."

Emilie set down her phone. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. Whatever had happened to the Graham de Vanily sisters who were kind to each other, who promised to never hurt each other, who swore to follow each other to the end of the Earth. Emilie barely recognized her sister anymore. 

Amelie spent all of her time running around the globe chasing ghost stories under the pretense of being a travel blogger. When she did come home to Paris she spent all of her time assisting Audrey Perrier in her schemes to ruin the lives of people she considered to be 'beneath her'.

Emilie got the second phone call of the night only moments later, though she didn't need to check the caller ID to know who it was. Amelie had the bad habit of hanging up on you before she even explained the reason why she called you in the first place. Other people called it ditzy, but Emilie called it as it was - deliberately rude and impolite.

"Yes, Amelie?"

"Remember that conversation we had a few weeks ago. About how you were going to commit yourself more to fulfilling our family legacy."

Of course, Emilie remembered that conversation, though it was more accurate to call it an argument. The exchange that Amelie was referring to was the same argument that put Emilie in such a bad mood that she snapped at the impeccably dressed, somewhat handsome blonde boy who was sitting in her seat in Advanced Design. Emilie sighed, "Yes, I remember."

"Good. I was thinking, you should come with me this summer. I've been getting closer and closer, and I think that having someone to bounce ideas off of will be the push that leads me to discovery."

"For how long? Two weeks? A month?"

"All summer."

"No way." Emilie mentally prepared herself to stay firm in the argument that was sure to follow.

"Two months," Amelie bargained.

"I can't give you two entire months of my summer," Emilie protested. "I'm going to have an internship to prepare for."

Amelie's tone of voice turned sharp. "You mean to tell me that you can't put your cushy university life on hold for _two measly months_ so that you can help out your twin sister who - need I remind you - is doing all of this alone, even though you _should_ be beside me right now."

"We both made our choices. My choice was to stay in Paris, yours was to travel the world. I respect your decision, why can't you respect mine."

Amelie's voice was ice cold. "Six weeks. That's my final offer. If you refuse, I'll talk to Mother and Father about how high your monthly allowance _really_ needs to be. They're already so generously paying for your university expenses. Maybe you should be paying rent - full rent. I barely live with you anyways. It would be a lot cheaper for me to get a hotel room for the fifteen days I year I spend in Paris, rather than spend money on an apartment I barely step foot in."

"Amelie, please," Emilie hated how her voice shook.

"Final offer. Stop being so dramatic and just agree to the deal already. Two months of globetrotting isn't the end of the world."

It wasn't the end of the world. It was just another neon-bright red flag that Emilie's twin sister didn't care about anything other than getting her way. "Okay. I agree. Six weeks."

"I'm so glad," Amelie cheered. "We'll have a great time, you just wait and see. Ciao, Emilie." 

Amelie hung up before Emilie could say goodbye - before the tears started to fall. How could two twins turn out so differently? How could everything go so wrong between her and her sister?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel discovers Emilie's greatest secret, meets Emilie's friends, and learns something about himself in the process. In the end, he takes a leap of faith and takes the next step in his relationship with Emilie.

What Gabriel didn't expect to see when he entered the study room thirty minutes after he had left, due to a binder he had left behind, was Emilie sobbing into her hands.

"Are you okay," he rushed to her side. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Emilie shook her head, wiping the tears off of her cheek. "I got into another argument with my sister. No matter what I do, I can't get her to respect my wishes with what I want to do with my life and it just frustrates me so much." Emilie broke off into another sob, before pulling herself back together. "Amelie and I are twins, but we got have radically different goals in life, and that causes a lot of tension between the two of us. I told her that I didn't want to spend my summer following her around the globe because I have a whole life here in Paris. Amelie threatened to have our parents cut me off and make me pay for my apartment myself."

"Does she have the power to do that?"

Emilie nodded weakly. "Our parents have always liked her better. There's this stupid legend that's been passed down for generations in my family, and Amelie is throwing her life away following wherever that legend will take her. Our parents think that Amelia is being selfless. As if it's selfless to not only waste your life but to try to drag your twin sister into wasting her life along with you."

"That sounds awful." Gabriel felt a twinge of empathy - it seemed that he and Emilie were both betrayed by people they trusted.

Emilie let out another sob. "I _like_ my life in Paris, I really do, but Amelie refuses to believe me. She thinks that my friends are boring, the university is boring, that no one could ever be satisfied, living in one place."

"Amelie sounds like a difficult person to get along with."

"We used to be friends, but now all we ever do is fight. Every single phone call is Amelie scolding me for being happy in Paris and me desperately trying to defend myself. It only gets worse when she returns to Paris. We can barely stand to be in the same room as each other anymore." Emilie stared down at her hands, twisting the ring on her finger anxiously.

"Will she be at your Valentine's Day party?"

"Unfortunately, she will, though she'll leave to go get drunk at some sleazy nightclub with her influencer friends as soon as she gets bored." Emilie wiped the last of her tears off of her face and took in a deep, steadying breath. "I've got to get home."

"Can I walk you home," Gabriel asked without hesitation. His plans for not getting close to Emilie were thrown out the window now that he could see the extent of her wounds, running just underneath the surface of her cheerful facade.

"Only if it's no trouble for you," said Emilie. "I know it's late."

Gabriel shrugged. "It's no trouble. I'm sure we live close by. Where's your apartment?"

Emilie told him the address, and Gabriel gave her a reassuring smile. "I only live a block away from there. It's barely even out of my way."

Gabriel walked Emilie home, distracting her with mindless chatter. They talked about the party that Emilie was putting on, a low-key affair in which Emilie's friends gathered in her living room and watched romcoms while eating the baked goods that Emilie had spent all week making. Gabriel walked Emilie to her apartment complex, and they said their goodbyes on the sidewalk.

As he walked home, Gabriel allowed his thoughts to wander. He looked forward to the Valentine's Day party, which was off for him. Normally he wouldn't want to go to a party, but Gabriel had to admit that Emilie's party sounded enjoyable. Much better than any of the parties that Victoria had dragged him to back when they were dating. They were all extravagant parties with alcohol, dancing, and loud music - the opposite of Gabriel's idea of a fun time. Looking back, it was clear that Victoria never really cared about him as a person. When she wasn't heaping praise on him for his academic accomplishments (a red flag in itself, because compliments about his academics were the _only_ compliments she ever gave), she was constantly trying to change him to better suit her tastes. Gabriel's introversion was a constant thorn in Victoria's side, and she berated him over it the entire time that they dated.

Emilie, on the other hand, seemed content with whatever he was willing to give her. She never made mention of his standoffishness, yet seemed to take it into account in her efforts to introduce him to her friends. She never pushed him past his unspoken boundaries, instead gently trying to ease him to the point of comfort in which he would lower those walls himself. Emilie was perfect in every way that Victoria was not, and it was that mental statement that brought Gabriel to his realization of the night. He had a crush on Emilie Graham de Vanily. Furthermore, he had no idea what to do about that.

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Gabriel spent the entirety of the next day waiting anxiously for Emilie's party. He counted down the hours until he could see her again, rehearsed in his mind the conversations he would have with Emilie and her friends, pictured what her apartment might look like, imagined the taste of her homemade cupcakes. Accepting his crush on Emilie had opened up a floodgate of repressed emotions: his desire to get to know her better, his hope that Emilie might develop feelings for him too, his anxiety over getting hurt again. It was an emotional whirlwind that Gabriel was entirely unprepared for.

As he walked down the hall of Emilie's apartment complex, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. If he didn't get his storm of emotions under control, they threatened to ruin the party for both him and Emilie. He didn't want to repress his emotions entirely - he knew that now that they were out in the open they weren't keen on being ignored again - but Gabriel wasn't comfortable wearing his heart on his sleeve around anyone, let alone the woman he had feelings for.

Gabriel knocked on Emilie's door and she answered it promptly, a bright smile on her face. "Gabriel! Come in, come meet everyone."

Gabriel followed her through the doorway, noting that there were four other people in the house, three were crowded around the kitchen island, snacking on chocolate covered pretzels. The fourth, Amelie Graham de Vanily, sat on the counter dividing the small dining area from the living room, staring at her phone. Gabriel did a double-take as he saw her. Intellectually, he knew that Emilie and Amelie were twins, but it hadn't occurred to him that they would be identical, rather than fraternal. Amelie was an odd, mirrored version of Emilie, similar enough to trick him when he caught sight of her in his periphery, yet different enough to be off-putting. They had similar facial features, but that was where the resemblance ended. Where Emilie was bright, warm smiles, Amelie had a cold, bored expression on her face. She looked up at Gabriel, gazing disinterestedly at him as if he was a bug on the ground, rather than a guest in her house. She didn't even both to introduce herself before directing her attention right back to her phone.

"Let me introduce you to everyone." Emilie put her hand on Gabriel's arm and guided him into the kitchen. "Everyone, this is Gabriel Agreste. Gabriel, this is Nathalie and Pierre."

"Hello," greeted Pierre.

The first thing that Gabriel noticed about both of Emilie's friends was their clothes. It was an instinct for him as a fashion major, to judge based on clothing, though he knew that it was a habit he should work on fixing.

Pierre wore a black hoodie with some sort of pop culture reference on it and jeans with paint splattered all over them, a tell-tale sign that he was an art major. His dark hair was styled in a messy manner, as if he had run his fingers through it to purposefully give it a bedhead look. He had his hand placed on the small of Nathalie's back, making it obvious that the two were in a relationship.

Nathalie wore a white turtleneck and a knee-length black skirt with tights underneath, along with blue flats. She wore glasses that were a little too big for her face, and no jewelry besides a watch on her wrist. Her black, pin-straight hair was cut at a shoulder length. She was pretty in a very plain way, and entirely overdressed for the party.

"Hello," Gabriel greeted.

"I'll go queue up the movie. You all can start bringing the snacks into the living room." Emilie grabbed a bowl of caramel popcorn and took it with her to the kitchen. Gabriel, Nathalie, and Pierre followed suit, each bringing one or two of the many baked goods with them. 

Baking was a talent that Gabriel didn't know that Emilie had, and for a moment he felt a twinge of guilt that he had refused for so long to get to know her better. He had spent so much time steering conversations away from their personal lives that he had never had the chance to learn that she was extraordinary in the kitchen.

"I'm going to head out," said Amelie, hopping off the counter. "Audrey needs me for a double date. Apparently, Andre brought one of his university friends and she needs me to keep them from talking politics all night long."

"Couldn't you stay just a little while longer." Emilie protested.

Amelie shook her head. "Nope. I have to go."

Gabriel knew that her sister's presence made Emilie unhappy, yet she looked crushed as Amelie walked out the door.

"Are you okay?" asked Nathalie, her sympathy clear as she gently set her hand on Emilie's arm.

"I'm fine," said Emilie, but her expression was still miserable. "Romcoms, chocolate chip cookies, and spending time with all of my best friends will cheer me up in no time."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Nathalie pressed a little harder.

"It's fine."

"It isn't fine. Amelie treats you terribly," protested Pierre.

Emilie shook her head. "Even if it isn't fine, I don't want to talk about it right now. Talking about it is only going to make me more upset. I have to deal with Amelie for two more days before she leaves for Venice, and I would like a fun night with my friends before I have to put up with Amelie until Monday morning."

"Let's start the movie," Gabriel suggested, leading the group to the couches. He sat down on the middle couch next to Emilie. Nathalie and Pierre sat next to each other on the second couch, cuddled up under a blanket.

As Emilie got up to turn off the lights and set the remote down on the coffee table, she also picked up two chocolate chip cookies, one of which she handed to Gabriel as she sat back down. "For you," she whispered as the movie started.

"Thank you."

"I never got the chance to say this, but I wanted to that you for coming. For a little while, I was worried that you wouldn't want to meet my friends."

"Why wouldn't I? They seem great." Emilie was correct in her worries, but Gabriel wasn't ready to tell her about the inner turmoil he was facing.

"They are great, aren't they." Though the room was dark, from the tone of Emilie's whispering Gabriel knew that she was smiling.

"You know what else is great?" Gabriel mused. "This cookie. It's delicious. You're a very talented baker."

"Thank you."

Nathalie called out from a few feet away. "Quiet down, you two. I can't hear the movie over all of your flirting."

Gabriel was glad that the lights were off, as his face uncontrollably flushed red. Uncharacteristically, he started to stammer. "We- We're not-"

"Gabriel and I aren't flirting, we're just having a conversation," Emilie explained.

"You can converse when the movie's over. Nat and I are trying to pay attention. Now shush." Pierre commanded.

"Sorry Pierre, sorry Nathalie," apologized Emilie.

Gabriel mumbled out a brief apology before turning his attention to the romcom, a cheesy movie about a baker's daughter falling in love with a famous model. Gabriel couldn't remember the last time he had watched a movie on his own accord. He wasn't one for television or movies, preferring to spend his free time working on his designs, perhaps playing music or a podcast in the background. Shamefully, Gabriel realized that he needed to pick up a hobby or two, try baking, gardening, or anything that didn't have to do with fashion and design.

As the movie played on, Gabriel started planning, forming a list of all the things he wanted to accomplish with the rest of the semester. He wanted to start opening up to Emilie, sharing some of the rougher edges of himself. He wanted to integrate himself into Emilie's group of friends. He wanted to become a better, more well-rounded person. He wanted to admit his feelings to Emilie.

After the first movie ended, Pierre suggested that they all sit down and play a card game instead of going on to the next movie immediately. Gabriel agreed without complaint, interested in getting to know Emilie's friends.

Gabriel's first impression of Pierre was that the man was very mellow. He was much easier to get to know than his girlfriend, as he coaxed Gabriel into a few one-on-one conversations, thought they were primarily about their university studies. Pierre was an art major; his crowning achievement was a mural that he painted on one of the walls of the art department. Gabriel could tell that Pierre was very proud of his work, as the other man's face lit up as he described the process of bringing a sketch from paper to real life.

Nathalie was a little harder for Gabriel to get to know. She spoke a few words to Gabriel, but didn't seem interested in engaging him one-on-one. Gabriel noticed that she was very clever and had a good sense of humor, as demonstrated from the sarcastic quips that she delivered throughout the night, some that were funny enough to provoke a reaction from Gabriel. Over the course of the night, Gabriel learned more and more about Nathalie. She was a business major, and the reason for her business casual dress was that she came stright to Emilie's party from her internship. 

When they finished their second rom-com of the night at 11:30 PM, Emilie called it a night and went to the kitchen to start packing up the leftover snacks. "You all have to take something home," Emilie told them. "I don't want any snacks left in the house."

"Are you sure?" asked Gabriel. "You made all of them, you deserve to have some for yourself."

Emilie shook her head. "Amelie hates having any kind of snack food in the house. She has the self-control of a toddler. Any time she sees anything sugary she eats it, and then blames me for having it in the house in the first place." 

Emilie handed Gabriel a box full of chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns. "Here you go."

"Thank you," said Gabriel. "Have a good night, Emilie."

"You too, Gabriel."

As Gabriel shut the door behind him, he could hear Emilie announce something to the room, and though he couldn't make out any words, she sounded excited. He left the apartment building with a smile on his face. He wasn't quite where he wanted to be with Emilie and with himself, but he had identified the problems and was on his way to making progress, which was the important part. He planned to get to know Emilie better, to encourage more natural conversation between the two of them. He also planned to improve himself as a person, taking up hobbies that weren't an extension of his future career. 

However, there was one major roadblock that he still had to cross - telling Emilie about the trauma that Victoria caused the same way Emilie told him about her issues with her sister. Gabriel decided that it would be better to get that out of the way early on in their relationship, lest he let the wounds fester. It wasn't a decision he took lightly, but in the end, Gabriel knew that he was making the right choice.

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It was a very efficient plan, killing three birds with one stone. All three of Gabriel's goals (talk to Emilie about non-university related topics, get a new hobby, and explain the reason behind his standoffishness to Emilie) would be taken care of in a single phone call. He dialed the number.

"Good morning, Emilie."

"Good morning," Emilie chirped through the phone, her voice bright. Gabriel made a note of the fact that she seemed to be a morning person, something that they had in common.

"I was wondering, because your sister is leaving this morning and your apartment is devoid of any baked goods, I thought that I could come over and we could bake something together."

"Oh, I didn't know that you enjoyed baking."

"I'm... proficient at it. I was concerned that your sweet tooth would go unsatisfied, and so I thought I would offer my assistance." 

Emilie laughed. "My sweet tooth is doing just fine. I have chocolate stashed away in my room for circumstances like this. Still, I'd love for you to come over and help me bake."

"Thank you," said Gabriel. "I was hoping..." This was the moment of truth. "I was hoping that this could be a date, rather than just a friendly get-together."

"A date? I thought you'd never ask!"

A smile spread across Gabriel's face as he heard the joy in Emilie's voice. "I'll be over at noon if that's good with you."

"It's great. I'll run to the store and pick up ingredients."

"Alright. Goodbye Emilie."

"Goodbye, Gabriel. See you in a few."

Gabriel hung up the phone. His smile stuck with him throughout the rest of his morning. He had a date with Emilie, and if all went well, this date would be the first of many.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilie and Gabriel have their first date and first kiss. Emilie learns Gabriel's secret and starts to keep some secrets of her own.

As Amelie shut the door behind her, leaving for the airport to get on a plane that would be taking her 400 miles away, Emilie finally let out the breath that she had been perpetually holding all weekend. Every time her sister spoke, it was a criticism. Emilie could barely stand to spend a weekend with Amelie, she wasn't sure how she was going to spend a whole six weeks with her sister.

Emilie's phone rang, and she picked it up, desperately hoping that it was Amelie calling. If her sister demanded that Emile drive all the way to the airport to deliver something that Amelie had forgotten, there was a significant chance that Emilie would lose her temper and simply hang up on her sister, which would only lead to more conflict between them. Luckily, Gabriel was the caller.

"Good morning, Emilie," he said after Emilie answered the phone.

"Good morning," Emilie chirped brightly. She was relieved to no end that it wasn't her sister who called.

"I was wondering, because your sister is leaving this morning and your apartment is devoid of any baked goods, I thought that I could come over and we could bake something together."

"Oh, I didn't know that you enjoyed baking." There was a lot that Emilie didn't know about Gabriel. He was so secretive that while Emilie felt like she knew his personality, she had no idea what his interests were, outside of fashion.

"I'm... proficient at it." His pause told Emilie all she needed to know. He didn't offer to help for his own sake. He offered to help because he wanted to spend time with her. The realization brought a smile to Emilie's face. "I was concerned that your sweet tooth would go unsatisfied, and so I thought I would offer my assistance." 

Emilie laughed, her amusement growing. "My sweet tooth is doing just fine. I have chocolate stashed away in my room for circumstances like this. Still, I'd love for you to come over and help me bake."

"Thank you. I was hoping... I was hoping that this could be a date, rather than just a friendly get-together."

Emilie's hand covered her mouth, muffling her gasp. She was so shocked, she was certain she must have misheard him. "A date? I thought you'd never ask!"

"I'll be over at noon if that's good with you."

"It's great. I'll run to the store and pick up ingredients."

"Alright. Goodbye Emilie."

"Goodbye, Gabriel. See you in a few."

Emilie hung up the phone, her eyes much wider than they were before the call. She was going on a date with Gabriel. "Gabriel is coming over to my house so that we can bake together, and it's a _date,_ " Emilie whispered to herself. The smile on her face grew. "I have to go get ready."

Emilie rushed to the grocery store on her street, stocking up on flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and quite a lot of chocolate chips. Once she got home, she took a shower, then braided back her blonde hair to keep it out of her face while they were baking. She decided to forgo makeup, as it seemed silly to get all dressed up when she wasn't even leaving the house. All that was left to do after that was wait for Gabriel to show up.

Gabriel knocked on her door twenty minutes later, and Emilie rushed to open it. Emilie, who had extensive knowledge of the facial expressions of Gabriel Agreste, could tell that he was nervous. The only other time she had seen that expression was the night before a major examination. If Gabriel was taking this date as seriously as he took his classwork, then Emilie was certain that he was interested in her. "Hello, Gabriel."

"Hello, Emilie. It's good to see you again." There was a hint of a smile on his face. If he didn't have such tight control over his emotions, Emilie was certain that he would be grinning ear to ear.

"I got all of our ingredients. Is there anything special you want to make."

Gabriel thought it over for a moment. "I've always been partial to lemon cookies."

Emilie grinned. "You look up a recipe. I'll start getting ingredients out."

Gabriel had been accurate when he referred to himself as proficient in the kitchen. He had clearly baked before, but he was no baking prodigy like Emilie, who, through many years of trial and error, had perfected all of her recipes. Gabriel measured all of the ingredients accurately, but when it came to judging whether something was mixed well enough or if they had baked something long enough, he was out of his area of expertise. However, instead of pushing Emilie away, this trait of his only endeared him to her more. For their first date, Gabriel chose something that Emilie enjoyed rather than using it as a chance to show off. 

Emilie's favorite moment of their date was when she handed Gabriel a batter covered spatula and instructed, "For you."

Gabriel looked bewildered. "What do you mean, 'for you'? Do you want me to rise it off and put it in the dishwasher?"

Emilie giggled. "No, silly. You get to lick the spatula."

His look of bewilderment didn't fade. "Why would I do that?"

"Have you never licked a spatula before?"

Gabriel shook his head. "I'm certain that it isn't healthy to eat the batter. There are raw eggs and raw flour in it."

Emilie rolled her eyes. "It is a _privilege_ to lick the spatula. The batter is delicious, and you can't spend your whole life living in fear of salmonella."

"I would rather just rinse it off."

"Just try it. One lick. Your mind will be blown, I promise."

He wrinkled his nose in distaste but still brought the batter-covered spatula to his mouth. "Mmm."

"What do you think?" Emilie eagerly demanded an answer.

"You were right, and I was wrong. The batter is very good." He got to work, cleaning the batter off the spatula. 

"Pass the spatula. I want to try some too."

Gabriel shook his head. "I've already licked it."

"Fine," Emilie was already deviously crafting her plan. "If you won't bring the batter to me." She took one step towards Gabriel, then another until she was right in front of him. Placing her hand on the back of his neck, she gently brought his head closer to hers as she got up on her tiptoes to place a kiss right on his lips. "I'll find a different way."

With that, Gabriel started kissing her back. Emilie had been kissed before, but with Gabriel, it felt better, more right than any first kiss she had ever experienced. His kiss was soft and slow, gentle but firm. Gabriel was a good kisser, telling Emilie that it wasn't his first kiss either. He flooded her senses with the feel of his lips and the taste of lemon cookie batter, and Emilie could have spent the rest of her life exploring that kiss, until he broke it off, his hand brushing a strand of hair that had escaped her braid back behind her ear. "How was that."

"Perfect," Emilie breathed, her face only inches from Gabriel's.

A beeping noise startled Emilie away from Gabriel. The timer went off, signaling that the first batch of cookies had finished cooking. The moment was ruined, per se, but Emilie gained enough sense to realize that the romance was going to have to be put on pause until they finished baking, lest they burn any cookies.

"I'll go get those." Emilie skipped over to the oven and pulled out the cookie tray, savoring the warm, lemon scent. "These are going to be delicious."

"If the batter is anything to go by, I think this might be my new favorite treat."

"I thought that you said that lemon cookies were already your favorite-" Emilie cut her words off as she made the connection. The treat that he was talking about wasn't the cookies - it was her kiss. "Oh." A blush graced her face and she turned back to the cookies to hide it. "I enjoyed it as well."

As midday turned to afternoon, Gabriel and Emilie baked cookies, brownies, and angel food cake. Emilie considered the date to be a complete success, and not just because of the delicious food. She never thought she'd see the day when cold, aloof Gabriel Agreste opened up to her and actually showed her that he cared. Yet there he was, standing in her kitchen, helping her bake, licking batter of her spatula, and kissing her silly.

"I don't mean to pressure you," said Emilie as they finished with their last batch of cookies and started cleaning up the kitchen. "I was wondering if you'd like to plan a second date. I thought that this one went well, and I'd like to do it again with you."

"I'd love that. How about a movie? We could make it a double date if you'd like to invite Nathalie and Pierre."

Emilie smiled. "I'd like that. Is there any specific movie you'd like to see?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Any movie would be fine by me."

"Okay," Emilie answered with a nod and a smile. "I know that you need to leave for your next class soon, and I just wanted to say that I had a great time today, and I can't wait to do it again."

"I have a class soon?" Gabriel glanced at the clock. "I must have lost track of time." With a shrug, he added, "I suppose I'll just skip it."

Emilie's eyes widened in shock. Gabriel never skipped class. "Are you certain? That isn't like you."

"I have something important to share. Something that I have to get off my chest before we start a relationship. It has to do with my last girlfriend - and the reason I transferred campuses."

It was the first time Gabriel was willing to open up to her. Eyes a little wider than usual, Emilie grabbed a plate of warm oatmeal cookies in one hand and Gabriel's hand in the other, leading him into her living room. Emilie curled up on the couch, setting the plate of cookies down in between them, trying to put a little space between her and Gabriel, for his sake. He sat down stiffly, staring at the plate of cookies in an effort not to meet her eyes.

"I didn't have many friends in middle school and high school. I was the boy who loved fashion and spent his free time at the library. My passions didn't earn me many friends. When I entered university, I thought that it was my chance to make friends with people who had the same interests and passions as me. On the first day of my first design class, I met Victoria. She wasn't as naturally talented as me, but she seemed to have my same passion, so I eagerly befriended her. At the beginning of my second year of university, she asked me out and at that moment, I thought that I loved her. We started dating, though, in retrospect, our relationship was almost entirely red flags. I just couldn't see them through my rose-colored glasses. I was so enamored with her - with friendship - that I didn't notice the big things. I never met her friends. We only ever went on two types of date, study dates and big blowout parties that always ended in her getting drunk and moody. Our relationship grew worse and worse over the four months we dated, and by December I was beginning to forget why I liked her so much in the first place." Gabriel took a deep breath. "That's when it all started to fall apart."

"I was called into the office of my academic advisor on the second day of finals. An assignment that Victoria submitted had caught her professor's eye, and the professor eagerly showed it around the Fashion Department, wanting her colleagues to see the talent of her student. Except, when she showed it to the department, it was quickly realized that the design wasn't Victoria's at all. She had been stealing rejected designs out of my sketchbook and repurposing them into her own work. Victoria had gotten caught only because the rejected design she stole was a rough draft I had shown to my professor and then later scrapped. Victoria was obviously expelled, and I got off with a warning to choose better friends."

"That day... when I found out that she stole from me I felt immediately betrayed. I broke off our relationship, and although she was expelled in the incident, I still submitted a request to transfer campuses. I knew that rumors would follow me around campus if I stayed, and I wanted a fresh start. I got to Paris and immediately swore off friendships. My friendship with Victoria had blindsided me to her treachery, and I never wanted to be hurt again. I thought that the best way to achieve that was to not let anyone get close to me. I've recently realized how wrong I was, but the point still stands. Before you, my history with relationships was short and ended in a complete disaster. That's why it's been so difficult for me to open up to you. I apologize for that."

Emilie bridged the gap between them, reaching across the untouched plate of cookies to hold his hand. "I'm sorry that that happened to you," said Emilie, her sympathy boundless. "You don't have to apologize for anything."

"Thank you for being so understanding," said Gabriel, finally meeting Emilie's eyes. 

"Of course." Emilie moved the plate of cookies from the couch to the coffee table and migrated over to cuddle up against Gabriel. They sat in comfortable silence for perhaps twenty minutes, neither wanting to move from the couch, Emilie's hand still holding Gabriel's. 

As they sat in silence, Emilie slowly came to the realization that she knew exactly who Gabriel's Victoria was. Amelie's second-best friend, Victoria Capelle, had been expelled from university two months ago due to accusations of cheating. The identical names, identical timelines, identical crimes - they were similarities that Emilie couldn't ignore. Emilie didn't say anything, as she was hesitant to ruin the moment between her and Gabriel, but she could already imagine what would happen once she told Gabriel. When he found out that Emilie's twin sister was good friends with his emotionally abusive ex-girlfriend, he would demand an ultimatum. Emilie would be forced to choose between Gabriel and Emilie. She would have to choose between the best romance she had ever experienced and the twin sister who verbally abused Emilie ever time they talked. The worst part was that Emilie already knew who she would choose. Though she and Amelie didn't see eye to eye, Emilie could never cut her sister out of her life. Ever the optimist, Emilie would always live in hope that she and Amelie could somehow fix things, and go back to the way things were. In addition, Emilie knew that if she cut Amelie out of her life, she would essentially be cutting ties her entire family, who would no doubt take Amelie's side.

The ring on her finger seemed to weigh a ton. This was the Graham de Vanily legacy - ruining lives in pursuit of a treasure that wasn't even real. It was all fairy tales, taken too seriously for generations. 

Emilie sighed, burrowing deeper against Gabriel's side and pulling a blanket over them. "Do you want me to put on a movie?" asked Emilie. "I can show you some of my favorites."

Gabriel nodded. "I would like that."

Emilie got up and put on _The Sound of Music_. Her mother had a love for movie musicals that she passed on to Emilie, as well as an entire collection of movies that she passed on to Emilie after her death. Emilie couldn't wait to share the movies with Gabriel. 

Once the movie started playing, Emilie turned off the lights and curled back up at Gabriel's side. He set his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She knew that omitting the truth from Gabriel would only cause her more pain, but Emilie had never felt this way about anyone before, and she never wanted the feeling to leave. If they never saw each other again, Emilie knew deep down that she would spend the rest of her life trying to chase down that feeling with somebody else, and she knew deep down that it would never work. The feeling of first love was irreplaceable, and Emilie couldn't bear to lose it so soon after finding it.

Gabriel started rubbing his thumb in a circle on the exposed skin on Emilie's shoulder. Her stress fading away, little by little. For a few hours, Emilie allowed herself to get lost in the familiar movie. Gone were her troubles, and in their place was the comfort of an old favorite, rewatched time and time again for the nostalgia of childhood. Perhaps her relationship with Gabriel was doomed for failure. Emilie didn't allow it to bother her. She instead let herself enjoy his company, reveling in the feeling of Gabriel's warm body, the scent of his body wash, the sound of his voice. What they had wouldn't last forever, so Emilie would enjoy it while it lasted.


End file.
